Connubial Woes
by Lialane Graest
Summary: "Marie, will you be more than my 'friend-with-benefits?" Stein asked. Marie has agreed, but when Spirit is injured and a secret is revealed, can Stein and Marie's relationship survive?
1. Chapter 1

Marie was cooking some lunch for her and Stein when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her stomach and a chin settle on her shoulder. She laughed, swatting at it with a spoon and quickly found herself spun around and a kiss planted on the offended shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said lightly, though his face showed that he was indeed not sorry at all. Marie placed a kiss on his nose and he reached behind her to flip the stove off. "Mind coming with me for a little bit? I have…" his voice dropped an octave or so as he whispered conspiratorially, "… an _experiment_ I want to try."

Marie laughed and let him lead her up the stairs and into her bedroom.

* * *

Marie sung under her breath as she pulled her and Stein's dinner out of the oven, sitting the small pot roast on the cutting board to rest while she started some dishes. Up to her elbows in water, humming her favorite song and scrubbing she didn't hear the quiet footsteps cross across the floor, and was completely unaware of her meister's presence until she felt his arm slip around her back, pulling her side against his.

"You know, I had a dishwasher installed so you didn't have to hand wash everything, Marie." He said quietly, looking down at the soapy water.

"You installed a dishwasher so that you could put your scalpels in it because the water gets hotter than even you can wash in!" Marie teased back; poking his chest with the sudsy spoon she had just finished washing.

He smirked. "That may have been part of it."

She squirmed out of his grasp and walked over to the dishwasher. "Which reminds me, _Franken,_" she flicked open the dishwasher door and motioned him to come over, "what is that?"

Stein looked into the dishwasher and chuckled. "I'm sorry, Marie. I knew I had misplaced it, but I couldn't remember where I had left it." He withdrew the skeletal hand from the dishwasher just as the spoon she had poked him with crashed into the back of his head.

"I don't want to find another body part ever in the dishwasher!" Marie said, smacking the spoon against her hand while Stein smirked. "I can't imagine that many women have to have that conversation with their," Stein caught the slight hesitation, "roommates." Slightly flustered the woman turned back to the soapy water, resuming doing the dishes.

"I believe we're past the 'roommates' stage and to what Spirit would dub as 'friends-with-benefits', Marie." Stein said, smirking down at the woman.

"I don't want to have to break my spoon by hitting your hard head, Franken!" Marie menaced him with the spoon and he chuckled as he left the kitchen, Marie's face bright red.

It only took another five minutes for Marie to finish the dishes and she cut the roast, pulling the other items out of their various holding areas (namely, the microwave) and carting them into the dining area.

"Franken, dinner!" She called out cheerfully, arranging the serving bowls on the table and making sure there was a spoon in each. Looking down she was pleased with the result, even if it was just roast, potatoes, corn, peas and a small cheesecake for desert.

Stein still hadn't shown up when she finished setting up the table so she left the dining area and walked into his research lab. She called out his name hesitantly, stepping into the dark lab and running her hand along the wall to find the light switch. A giggle warned her of his nearness an instant before she felt his hand close around her wrist and she was pulled into the dark lab, his arms sliding around her. His left arm was pinning her arms to her sides while the right was covering her mouth.

The grip wasn't tight, but it wasn't loose enough that she could pull out of it easily either. "Franken?"

He giggled again, pulling her back against his chest. _"I have a surprise for you, Marie."_ He took a few steps backwards, dragging the death scythe with him.

Marie panicked, struggling against him. He clucked his tongue at her and a second later she was over his shoulder and he was striding deeper into the dark lab. "Franken, put me down!" She shrieked in his ear and he watched amusedly as her arm glowed a golden color and he felt the calming effect of her wavelength rush through her and batter against his soul.

"Marie, you know an anti-madness wavelength only works on madness," he said gently, sitting her down on the operating table he could barely see. With a smirk he flipped the light on and watched the look on her face go from one of fury and indignation to one of pure shock.

He was kneeling in front of her, a small black box in his hands. The box was open, and sitting nestled in the black velvet was a white gold diamond engagement ring. Tears formed in Marie's eye as he slipped it out of the box and slid it onto her finger.

"Marie, will you be more than my 'friend-with-benefits'?"

She slipped off the operating table and into his arms, burying her head against his neck as her shoulders shook with silent sobs.

"I'll take that as a yes." Stein said smugly.

"Of course it's a yes, you idiot!" Marie said through her tears, pressing her lips against Stein's.

A sudden knock echoed through the lab, rising in intensity and frequency quickly. "Stein!" Someone shouted through the door. "It's Spirit, he's hurt bad, he's dying!" Stein glanced at Marie before grabbing his portable med kit and running towards the door.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the base of this plot goes to TheAUWalker. Expect it to grow a bit more. Thanks for reading, I don't own Soul Eater.**


	2. Chapter 2

They had brought Spirit to him, the man covered in blood. Sid held him; Nygus had been the one pounding and screaming at the door. Stepping back Stein ushered them into the lab, hurrying ahead of them and flipping on lights as he went.

"Sid, what wounds does he have?" Stein asked as he and Nygus both were washing up in the sinks. Marie slid off the operating table as he came back, and when they brought Spirit in Stein had to catch her as she fainted.

"He was on a patrol at the request of Shinigami-sama when he was attacked. It was closer to bring him here than to Shibusen. We know of a pretty sizeable wound to abdomen and two more on his right arm. We didn't want to risk wasting the time to check, we got him here as fast as we could." Sid explained quickly as he laid Spirit on the table that Marie had just vacated.

"Sid, do you mind taking Marie out with you?" The zombie nodded, helping the woman to her feet as she started blinking, conscious again. She went willingly with Sid as Stein and Nygus started the effort of saving Spirit.

The surgery took hours, and at the end both Stein and Nygus were literally exhausted, but Spirit was stable. They both cleaned up before Stein came out to get Sid's help in moving Spirit to the small bed he kept tucked away in the corner of the lab.

Marie was upstairs when everything was done, and Stein found her in his bed asleep. There were tear tracks on her face and his pillow. Pulling the stitched blanket up and over her he stepped outside the room and back downstairs.

"You two are welcome to crash here in Marie's room if you'd like." He glanced into the eating area and sighed. "Marie also cooked, and since she's asleep and I don't have any type of appetite right now you two are more than welcome to have it."

Sid and Nygus just shook their heads. "We'll head back to our apartment, Stein. We'll come by again in the morning." Stein nodded as the pair left before trudging into the eating area to put up the food that Marie had spent so much time cooking.

He finished quickly and drug his exhausted body up the stairs, slipping into bed beside Marie and pulling her against himself. She woke briefly and turned to face him, quiet sobs wracking her body as he held her, stroking her hair until she drifted back to sleep. He could see the pain in her wavelength, the residual terror of seeing one of their friends so close to death. He was familiar with the feeling. Spirit had actually died twice during the surgery.

* * *

Marie dreamt that night, shivering against Stein's body. She never quite woke the man, but several times he was pulled through several layers of sleep by her shaking. Unconsciously he wrapped his arms around her, holding the distraught woman close to his chest until she relaxed.

She sat up with a shriek the following morning, and Stein had her in his arms before he was even awake, smoothing her hair while he blinked the sleep from his eyes, yawning.

"Marie? What's wrong?" He asked quietly, holding her close to him.

She just shook her head, burying her face against his chest. "Just a bad dream," she said finally, her voice muffled. He ran his hand up and down her back until the trembling stopped.

"I'm right here, Marie." Stein said quietly and felt her head nod against his chest. "I need to go check on Spirit now. He may be awake."

Marie slipped out of the bed and stood, pulling on what clothing she was missing. "I'll come with you, Franken." Stein nodded, pulling on his pants and lab coat.

They walked downstairs together and into the lab. Spirit was still under from the anesthetics, and Stein prepared a cocktail to help wake the man. Marie stood to the side, her arms wrapped around herself. Carefully injecting the syringe into Spirit's waiting IV Stein stepped back, unsure of how the man would wake from the anesthetic after his earlier trauma. His previous experiences with the patient were all from a calm entrance.

Spirit woke up swinging, a blade springing from his arm as he lashed out, neatly severing the IV before he collapsed back onto the bed; the blade winking out of existence, pain surging even with the pain medicine that Stein had given him.

"Senpai, relax." Stein said quietly from a few feet away from him. "You're safe; Nygus and I have taken care of your wounds."

Spirit stared blindly at the man, the after effects of the surgery and the anesthetic readily apparent in his face, before blinking a few times. "Stein."

"Senpai?"

"_It hurts." _Spirit's voice was ragged.

Stein just nodded, moving to the death scythe's side. He selected a syringe from a selection that he had left near the bed, sliding it into Spirit's arm without hesitation and depressed the plunger. A look of relief crossed the death scythe's face a few moments later.

"_Thank you…"_ The man whispered.

Stein just nodded, Marie trying to stifle her tears. Stein pulled her into his arms as Spirit drifted back to sleep. The scientist found a sudden thought presenting itself to him and he twisted the screw in his head as Marie sobbed quietly against his chest.

'_Why is this affecting Marie so much? We've seen friends injured worse than this in front of us and she's never broken down this badly…' _The woman shifted a bit in his arms and he tilted his head down to kiss her. _'Perhaps it is simply that time in her menstrual cycle when she becomes more emotional.'_ A smirk crossed the scientist's face briefly as the image of Marie knocking him through a wall with a hammer transformed arm for asking passed through his mind.

Marie's eyes were closed during the kiss, which probably saved him from the image becoming reality.

* * *

**A/N: Yay, Spirit survived! Next chapter begins his road to recovery~!**

**I don't own Soul Eater.**


	3. Chapter 3

Spirit woke a few hours later in much less pain, though he was still heavily under the influence of the drugs that Stein had given him to fight the pain in the first place. The first person he saw when he opened his eyes was Marie, and he couldn't focus enough to see Stein sitting a bit behind her at his computer, typing as usual.

A sly smile crossed the death scythe's face as he looked at her, the fog clearing reluctantly from his brain. "Marie…" Spirit said quietly. "How about a quick tumble before Stein gets back? Like old times?" He chuckled weakly, his eyelids drooping.

Marie's face contorted in horror and the typing stopped suddenly. Marie tensed as she felt Stein set his hand down on her shoulder and even Spirit paled slightly as his eyes focused enough to see the meister, the gravity of what he had just said sinking in slowly.

"Like old times?" Stein asked, stepping to Marie's side and letting his arm drape over Marie's shoulder. She was all too aware of the scalpel in Stein's hand then, the scalpel that was sitting dangerously close to her arm, to her throat. She swallowed hard; in Stein's hands, it was too close to any portion of her body for her comfort.

Spirit just chuckled, his eyes unfocused again, "Yeah, old times. Way back when we were younger." One arm lifted up into the air and the death scythe flexed his fingers before making a shooing motion. "A long, long time ago." Marie was frozen, Stein staring at Spirit.

"It's a good thing that I know your tolerance for medication, Spirit, otherwise the comments that you just made about my fiancée would require that I test your pain threshold." Stein's voice was cold.

"Didn't know you'd made a claim on her, Sh-tine." Spirit said. "No 'fense intended."

Stein's chuckle was mirthless. "You're forgiven, Senpai." Stein turned to look at Marie then, and took note of her expression. "Spirit can't handle the amount of medication that I had to give him for the pain, Marie. I'm sorry if he offended you."

Marie snapped out of it, shaking her head. "It's just… that is such old history I'd nearly forgotten about it…"

Stein nodded, going back to his research.

* * *

Marie left the research lab then, and resolved to not enter it again until Spirit was firmly on the road to recovery. She felt a slight shudder run through her at what Stein would do if he had realized that Spirit's offhanded remark about it being "when they were younger" hadn't meant that much younger.

The blonde busied herself cooking, her eyes closed as memories rushed back to her. Arms wrapping around her waist shocked her back to the present, Stein's chin resting on her shoulder almost as if he had seen the memory in her mind. She felt a slight blush tinge her cheeks.

"Marie… whatever was done; it was before us, yes?" His voice was quiet and she could hear the desperation in it.

She turned to face him, moving to kiss him but he stopped her. "Please, Marie. Answer me." Barely concealed anguish was painted across his face, his tone pleading.

"Of course it was, Franken." The lie fell flat on her ears, but Stein looked relieved. "I would never do anything like that to you."

He tilted his head down to kiss her then, and slipped his hand into the small of her back. There was an urgency, a desperation to the kiss too, almost as if he wanted to devour her as he pulled her against his body. Slipping her arms around his neck she leaned into it, and when they finally broke apart she stood on her tiptoes to pull his head down to where her mouth was right beside his ear.

"_I can show you what I would do to you, if you'd like though, Franken."_

With a practiced movement Stein flipped the stove off and took her upstairs to their room.

* * *

Marie lay curled up next to Stein, the man's breathing easy and slow. He had been almost rough and she knew that she would ache in a while from it, but she had sensed his desperation. It had almost been like he was claiming her, and she wouldn't deny him that relief. Guilt swirled through her, and she knew that if he had been awake he would have been able to sense it.

Disentangling herself from him Marie slid from the bed, walking quietly downstairs in her robe. She entered the dark research lab and flipped on the lights. Spirit laid asleep, a new IV in, and she walked over to the side of his bed, sitting down on the side of it. The fingers of her left hand curled gently around his right hand and the man stirred slightly, his blue eyes opening a crack before he blinked, focusing on her.

"_I'm sorry."_ Spirit whispered miserably.

She released his hand and brushed the hair out of his face, the man staring up at her. "It's alright, Spirit."

"_Stein will kill us both."_

"Don't worry, Spirit. It's over, in the past." Her hand slid into his again. "Franken asked me to marry him. I said yes, Spirit."

A tear slipped out of the man's eye and he looked up at the stitched ceiling. "Could… could I have one last kiss, Marie? I… I do love you."

She leaned over the bed, kissing Spirit gently. "I know Spirit, I love you too. I always will, but we have to pretend now…" Marie stood, wiping tears out of her eye. "I'm going to marry Franken. I love him, and I'm going to start a life with him, Spirit."

Spirit's next question stopped Marie as she left him. "What if I had asked you, Marie?"

"You didn't Spirit, and it's too late now. I love Franken, I said yes. As much as I love you… I choose Franken. Get better, Spirit." Marie left the room then, turning the light off as she went. Tears fell down her cheek as she did, mirrored by the tears of the man in the bed.

In the bed he shared with Marie, Stein lay awake. He was fully aware of the location of the two souls below him. Cranking the screw in his head, Stein sighed, wondering what Marie was doing with Spirit, but fighting the impulse to climb out of bed and go look.

He had to trust her. If he couldn't trust Marie, who could he?

* * *

**A/N: Dum dum dum.**

**I don't own Soul Eater.**


	4. Chapter 4

Spirit drifted in and out of consciousness for the next two days, the medicine slowly leaving his system as Stein began cutting the dosage down. Marie kept away from the lab, and Stein assumed that it was because of the incident that he hadn't interrupted between the two of them. Curiosity raged behind the scientist's impassive gaze as he sat there, rereading the medical chart he held in his hands, Spirit's survival guaranteed, the man resting comfortably again.

With a lurch Stein stood, pushing the rolly chair backwards and away from him. It skidded on the concrete flooring but didn't wake his patient and Stein walked woodenly into the kitchen looking for Marie. She wasn't there, and he moved on, walking into their sitting area. Again, she was absent. He resisted the urge to find her with his _Soul Perception_, pointedly ignoring it. A quick glance at the clock showed him that it was nearly 10:30pm, so he climbed the stairs, entering their room.

Marie was curled up on his side of the bed, her arms wrapped around his pillow. The woman was obviously asleep, though she stirred as he opened the door. He walked over, sliding into her side of the bed and wrapped his arms around her as she snuggled back against his chest, murmuring softly in her sleep, too low for him to make out.

"Marie." Stein said quietly, not wanting to shock her awake. She murmured again, her arms reluctantly letting go of the pillow as she rolled to face him, nuzzling into his chest. "Marie," he said gently again.

"Nghm…" Stein smirked at the noise, tilting her face up to his and kissed her. Marie's eyes blinked open and stared at him unfocused for a moment. "You're actually going to sleep in bed tonight?" Her voice was tired and slurred slightly, but Stein couldn't help but smirk.

"Senpai is doing much better; he doesn't need someone right beside him." Stein's voice grew serious as he continued, "Which reminds me, Marie. The other day, what did the two of you talk about? After he had mentioned you two sleeping together when you were younger."

Marie stiffened in Stein's arms, and he stared at her. "I told him we were getting married, Franken. That you had asked me and I had said yes."

Stein stated the obvious, his arms wrapped tightly around Marie. "You told him so he wouldn't think he could restart what you two did."

She nodded against his chest and he looked up at the wall. "I was worried… He had to know, and I didn't know if he was with it enough when you called me your fiancée to understand what that meant or not." She felt his head move as he nodded, his arms tightening around her.

"He understands then, Marie?"

"He knows we're getting married, Franken."

His hand touched her chin, releasing her from his grip, as he tilted her head up to look at him. "No, does he understand that you are mine and mine alone, Marie?"

Marie nodded mutely as Stein kissed her again, and she could feel some of the tension that was in him drain out as he leaned into the kiss. A moment later she was lying flat on the bed and he was straddling her, raining kisses down her jaw and chest. She closed her eyes and happily gave into the resonance between their souls.

* * *

Marie awoke later, Stein's arms wrapped around her; his long legs tangled in hers. His face was smooth and his breathing even. She curled against him, his arms tightening in his sleep as she sighed into his chest. She let his breathing lull her almost back to sleep when his voice pulled her from the brink.

"You lied to me."

Marie pulled back from him, and he looked down at her, no evidence of sleepiness in his eyes. "What are you talking about, Franken?"

The look he gave her caused her blood to run cold, his arms tight around her. "You talk in your sleep. You called me Spirit." Marie's face paled. "How many times have you slept with him? And don't bother lying. Once is too many, and it's obvious that this wasn't before us."

"Franken-"

"When?" His arms tightened on her, and she felt as if she could barely breathe, and Marie was left speechless. "Damnit, when?!"

"When you went to Oceania." Marie's voice was low and quiet, tears welling up in it. "You were gone nearly a month. We got drunk and one thing led to another… Franken, I'm sorry! I never meant for it to happen."

"Was that the only time?" Marie trembled in his arms and he sighed. "Just tell me, Marie."

"There was a time before that. We weren't dating then… I was making lunch for the two of us and you were so wrapped up in your experiments… Spirit came over… he was drunk… I don't know why I went along with it."

"Twice."

"Franken, that's it, I swear!" She looked up into his face and found him staring at the ceiling.

"I want to believe you, Marie. I want to. I just don't know if I can." With that he slipped from the bed and left the room, clad only in his lab coat. Tears fell down the death scythe's face as reality slapped her in face.

Dimly she heard the metal doors of the lab shut with a clang.

* * *

**A/N: :( I'm sad now.**


	5. Chapter 5

Marie sat in the bed, staring in the direction that Stein would have gone. She knew him well enough to know that when something was out of his control there was only one thing that would calm him down.

Dissection.

He had left the lab, and she knew that meant he was going to find something in the wild to dissect, and do it in away from her so he could be as brutal as he wanted to be with whatever small animal happened to fall into his sights.

The death scythe gave a small sigh of relief. _'Better some animal than Spirit or me…'_ she thought to herself. Then she shook her head. _'What are you talking about, Marie! You have to stop him!' _She slapped her cheeks and stood from the bed.

Without a second thought the death scythe pulled on some clothing and padded out into the dark night, following her meister, her love, her life.

* * *

"Franken?" The scientist looked up as he heard his name being called, the rabbit he had caught pinned down by two sharpened sticks. "Franken?" Her voice was closer to him now, and he shook in madness fueled rage. His hands clenched into fists before he forced himself to drop the scalpel in his hand; taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself.

A moment later he felt her hand touch his shoulder. "Franken, I'm sorry… come home with me."

The man shrugged her hand off his shoulder and stood, towering over her. A sadistic grin spread across his face as his hand lashed out, wrapping itself around her throat. A moment later his other hand joined it and he forced the death scythe to her knees.

Marie didn't panic. She knew better than to waste the air that she had remaining in her lungs. His grip on her tightened and she looked defiantly up at him, the pressure beginning to build up in her head. A glowing hand reached out to the man, aiming for his chest.

He shook her touch off and Marie finally panicked as his grip tightened on her throat, her hand reaching up to claw at his. Hysterical giggles poured from him as Marie's vision began to blacken. Desperate she lashed out, her wavelength glowing around her hand again.

This time her hand touched him and he looked down wide eyed at it. A moment later he was slumped on his knees in front of her, holding her to his chest, his chin resting on her shoulder as the death scythe greedily sucked in air, her throat burning with each breath as tears of relief streamed down her cheek.

"Franken…" the woman's voice felt raw. "I'm so sorry. I…" she choked on her tears as the man leaned against her. "I understand if you… if this…" Marie found herself unable to force the words out that she wanted to say, and settled on telling him, "I will always love you…"

Stein pushed back to look at her, and she could see the pain in his eyes though none of it showed on his face. "I nearly kill you… and you apologize to me."

"It's my fault that you were out here in the first place, Franken… my fault for everything about tonight. I'm so sorry…"

His hand brushed the side of her neck, dark bruises already forming from the sheer force of the attack earlier. She gasped as he leaned in and placed a tender kiss on the side of her neck.

"Marie… promise me that it will never happen again." Stein murmured into the side of her neck, his arms pulling her closer to him. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

Marie wrapped her arms around him, crying and smiling at the same time. "I promise, Franken. I love you. I don't want to lose you to anything. Not the madness, not an injury, and definitely not to my own stupid mistake."

* * *

Spirit looked up from where he was sitting in bed as the pair came back into the lab, Stein having Marie sit on an operating table before he retreated to get some icepacks to place on her neck. They were murmuring softly to themselves; Spirit couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

"Hey," Spirit called out as he slipped his legs over the side of the bed before standing precariously. "Is everything alright? Is Marie ok?"

"She'll be fine, Spirit." Stein said, holding an icepack against her throat, Marie's head tilted to the side as Stein did so.

"What happened?"

Both Stein and Marie were silent for a moment before Marie spoke. "He… he figured it out, Spirit."

Spirit staggered over to them then, and looked at the bruises on Marie's neck.

"You bastard!" Spirit exclaimed.

"He wasn't himself, Spirit."

"And you're the bastard, Senpai. I never slept with Kami." Stein said a second later.

Spirit fumed. "It doesn't matter. It won't happen again- Marie is mine." Stein said quietly.

There was silence for a second as Marie looked away from both men.

"Just take care of her, Stein." With that the weapon staggered away from them and left the lab.

* * *

**A/N: Tada. I hope that you enjoyed the ending. I don't own Soul Eater.**


End file.
